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, 21:25, 22 April 2009New page: '''Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)''' is a 25-year long research strategy, currently underway, to develop a regenerative medical procedure to periodically repair all...
'''Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)''' is a 25-year long research strategy, currently underway, to develop a regenerative medical procedure to periodically repair all the age-related tissue damage in the human body, thereby maintaining a youth-like state indefinitely. <ref name=SENSPlatform>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/sens The SENS Platform: An Engineering Approach to Curing Aging]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.</ref><ref name=EndingAging>de Grey, Aubrey; Rae, Michael (September 2007). ''Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs that Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime''. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 416 pp. ISBN 0312367066.</ref>
"Engineered negligible senescence" refers to an [[engineering|engineered]] scenario in which age-related tissue damage can be repaired faster than it accumulates. The expression was coined by British [[biogerontology|biogerontologist]] [[Aubrey de Grey]] and first appeared in print in his 1999 book ''The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging''.<ref name="isbn1587061554">de Grey, Aubrey (November 2003). ''The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging.'' Austin, Texas: Landes Bioscience. ISBN 1587061554.</ref> It was later prefaced with the term "strategies" in the article ''Time to Talk SENS: Critiquing the Immutability of Human Aging''<ref name="pmid11976218">de Grey AD, Ames BN, Andersen JK, Bartke A, Campisi J, Heward CB, McCarter RJ, Stock G (April 2002). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/manu12.pdf Time to Talk SENS: Critiquing the Immutability of Human Aging]". ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences'' 959: 452–62. PMID 11976218.</ref> and is used in the context of de Grey's [[life extension]] medical proposal, "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)". De Grey argues for a "goal-directed rather than curiosity-driven"<ref>Bulkes, Nyssa (March 6, 2006). "[http://www.northernstar.info/article.php?id=20553&old=1 Anti-aging research breakthroughs may add up to 25 years to life]". ''The Northern Star''. Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, USA).</ref> approach to the science of aging, and to this purpose he identifies what he believes are the seven damages of aging and their potential methods of treatments. De Grey in this sense views medicine as a branch of engineering. He believes the next great social debate will occur when aging research progresses to the point that public funds could be used to accelerate the arrival of effective treatment for aging.
The proposal has received widespread media attention, including from the [[BBC]],<ref name="BBCNews-Dec2004">de Grey, Aubrey (December 3, 2004). "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4003063.stm We will be able to live to 1,000]". BBC News.</ref> the ''[[New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT-November2003">Gorman, James (November 1, 2003). "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E2DB1230F932A35752C1A9659C8B63&scp=2&sq=%22negligible%20senescence%22%20&st=cse High-Tech Daydreamers Investing In Immortality]". ''The New York Times''.</ref> and ''[[60 Minutes]]'',<ref name="60Minutes-January2006">Ferguson, Bruce (January 1, 2006). "[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/28/60minutes/main1168852.shtml The Quest for Immortality]". ''60 Minutes''. CBS News.</ref> though it has been questioned by mainstream biologists.<ref name="60Minutes-January2006"/> De Grey has summarized the entire SENS program in his 2007 book ''[[Ending Aging|Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs that Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime]]''.<ref name=EndingAging/> Although media sources have occasionally described SENS as "Cambridge-based",<ref name="BBCNews-Dec2004"/> the SENS project is free-standing with no exclusive university affiliation.<ref name=SENSPlatform/>
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==Framework==
The goal of the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) is the complete reversal of all age-related illnesses and indefinite extension of the healthy human lifespan.<ref name=SENSPlatform>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/sens The SENS Platform: An Engineering Approach to Curing Aging]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.</ref> The SENS project consists in implementing a series of periodic medical interventions designed to repair, prevent or render irrelevant all the types of molecular and cellular damage that cause age-related pathology and degeneration, in order to avoid debilitation and death from age-related causes.<ref name=EndingAging/>
De Grey defines aging as "the set of accumulated side effects from metabolism that eventually kills us",<ref name=ThanLivescience2005>Than, Ker (April 11, 2005). "[http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050411_aubrey_interview.html Hang in There: The 25–Year Wait for Immortality]". ''LiveScience''. Imaginova.</ref> and, more specifically, as follows: "a collection of cumulative changes to the [[molecule|molecular]] and [[cell (biology)|cellular]] structure of an [[adult]] [[organism]], which result in essential [[metabolism|metabolic]] processes, but which also, once they progress far enough, increasingly disrupt metabolism, resulting in [[pathology]] and death."<ref name="pmid12844502">de Grey, Aubrey (January 8, 2003). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/manu16.pdf An engineer's approach to the development of real anti-aging medicine]". ''Sci Aging Knowledge Environ''. 2003 (1): VP1. [[doi:10.1126/sageke.2003.1.vp1]]. PMID 12844502.</ref>
As de Grey states, "[[geriatrics]] is the attempt to stop damage from causing pathology; traditional [[gerontology]] is the attempt to stop [[metabolism]] from causing damage; and the SENS (engineering) approach is to eliminate the damage periodically, so keeping its abundance below the level that causes any pathology."<ref name=SENSPlatform/> His approach to biomedical [[gerontology]] ("[[anti-aging]] [[medicine]]") is thus distinctive because of its emphasis on [[rejuvenation]] rather than attempting to slow the aging process.
He identifies what he believes to be the seven biological causes of senescence.<ref name=EndingAging/><ref>Hooper, Joseph (January 1, 2005). "[http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-01/prophet-immortality The Prophet of Immortality]". ''POPSCI.COM''.</ref> According to de Grey, the causes of aging in humans are cell loss or atrophy (without replacement),<ref name="pmid11976218"/><ref name="pmid12844502"/><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (2005). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/FHT-PP.pdf A strategy for postponing aging indefinitely]". ''Stud Health Technol Inform.'' 118: 209–19. PMID 16301780.</ref> [[oncology|oncogenic]] [[cell nucleus|nuclear]] [[mutation]]s and [[epimutation]]s,<ref>de Grey AD, Campbell FC, Dokal I, Fairbairn LJ, Graham GJ, Jahoda CA, Porterg AC (June 2004). [http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/WILT.pdf Total deletion of ''in vivo'' telomere elongation capacity: an ambitious but possibly ultimate cure for all age-related human cancers]. ''Ann N Y Acad Sci''. 1019: 147–70. [[doi:10.1196/annals.1297.026]]. PMID 15247008.</ref><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (September 1, 2005). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/WILT-FBS.pdf Whole-body interdiction of lengthening of telomeres: a proposal for cancer prevention]". ''Frontiers in Bioscience''. 10: 2420–29. PMID 15970505.</ref><ref name="pmid17588643">de Grey, Aubrey (July–August 2007). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/nucmutPP.pdf Protagonistic pleiotropy: Why cancer may be the only pathogenic effect of accumulating nuclear mutations and epimutations in aging]". ''Mech Ageing Dev''. 128 (7–8): 456–59. [[doi:10.1016/j.mad.2007.05.005]]. PMID 17588643.</ref> cell [[senescence]] (Death-resistant cells),<ref name="pmid12556198">de Grey, Aubrey (February 2003). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/manu21.pdf Challenging but essential targets for genuine anti-ageing drugs]". ''Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets''. 7 (1): 1–5. [[doi:10.1517/14728222.7.1.1]]. PMID 12556198.</ref><ref name="pmid17100587">de Grey, Aubrey (November 2006). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/excellPP.pdf Foreseeable pharmaceutical repair of age-related extracellular damage]". ''Curr Drug Targets''. 7 (11): 1469–77. ISSN 1389–4501. PMID 17100587.</ref> [[mitochondria]]l mutations,<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (Fall 2004). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/polg-PP.pdf Mitochondrial Mutations in Mammalian Aging: An Over-Hasty About-Turn?]" ''Rejuvenation Res''. 7 (3): 171–4. [[doi:10.1089/rej.2004.7.171]]. PMID 15588517.</ref><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (September 2000). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/allo.pdf Mitochondrial gene therapy: an arena for the biomedical use of inteins]". ''Trends Biotechnol''. 18 (9): 394–99. [[doi:10.1016/S0167-7799(00)01476-1]]". PMID 10942964.</ref> Intracellular junk or junk inside cells ([[lysosome|lysosomal]] aggregates),<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (November 2002). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/manu15.pdf Bioremediation meets biomedicine: therapeutic translation of microbial catabolism to the lysosome]". ''Trends Biotechnol''. 20 (11): 452–5. [[doi:10.1016/S0167-7799(02)02062-0]]. PMID 12413818.</ref><ref>de Grey AD, Alvarez PJJ, Brady RO, Cuervo AM, Jerome WG, McCarty PL, Nixon RA, Rittmann BE, Sparrow JR (August 2005). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/medbioremPP.pdf Medical bioremediation: prospects for the application of microbial catabolic diversity to aging and several major age-related diseases]". ''Ageing Research Reviews''. 4 (3): 315–38. [[doi:10.1016/j.arr.2005.03.008]]. PMID 16040282.</ref> extracellular junk or junk outside cells (extracellular aggregates),<ref name="pmid12556198"/><ref name="pmid17100587"/> and random extracellular cross-linking.<ref name="pmid12556198"/><ref name="pmid17100587"/>
For each of these problems, de Grey outlines possible solutions, with a research and a clinical component. The clinical component is required because in some of the proposed therapies, feasibility has already been proven, but not completely applied and approved for use by human beings. He believes we will be able to apply these solutions before we completely understand the targeted aging mechanisms, which will take longer.<ref name=ThanLivescience2005>Than, Ker (April 11, 2005). "[http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050411_aubrey_interview.html Hang in There: The 25–Year Wait for Immortality]". ''LiveScience''. Imaginova.</ref> He states that the goals work together to eliminate known causes of human senescence, are concrete, seem achievable, and are considered feasible by experts in the applicable fields. The goals were said to be taken from classical literature describing the biological causes of senescence.
De Grey proposes that engineered negligible senescence therapies could extend the human lifetime by many centuries or millennia, as early therapies give them enough time to seek more effective therapies later on. He describes an [[actuarial escape velocity]] of life extension, when advances in senescence treatment come rapidly enough to save the lives of the oldest beneficiaries of the previous treatments.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (June 15, 2004). "Escape Velocity: Why the Prospect of Extreme Human Life Extension Matters Now". ''PLOS Biology'' 2 (6): 723–26. [[doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020187]].</ref>
==Types of aging damage and treatment schemes==
===Cancer-causing nuclear mutations/epimutations—OncoSENS===
These are changes to the nuclear [[DNA]] (nDNA), the molecule that contains our genetic information, or to proteins which bind to the nDNA. Certain [[mutation]]s can lead to cancer, and, according to de Grey, non-cancerous mutations and [[epimutation]]s do not contribute to aging within a normal lifespan, so cancer is the only endpoint of these types of damage that must be addressed. A mutation in a functional gene of a cell can cause that cell to malfunction or to produce a malfunctioning product, because of the sheer number of cells, de Grey believes that redundancy takes care of this problem, although cells that have mutated to produce toxic products might have to be disabled. In de Grey's opinion, the effect of mutations and epimutations that really matters is [[cancer]], this is because if even one cell turns into a cancer cell it might spread and become deadly. This would need to be corrected by a [[cure for cancer]], if any is ever found. The SENS program focuses on a strategy called "whole-body interdiction of lengthening [[telomeres]]" (WILT), which would be made possible by periodic [[regenerative medicine]] treatments (see below).
===Mitochondrial mutations—MitoSENS===
Mitochondria are components in our [[cell (biology)|cells]] that are important for [[energy]] production. They contain their own genetic material, and mutations to their DNA can affect a cell’s ability to function properly. Indirectly, these mutations may accelerate many aspects of aging. Because of the highly oxidative environment in mitochondria and their lack of the sophisticated repair systems found in cell nucleus, mitochondrial mutations are believed to a be a major cause of progressive cellular degeneration. This would be corrected by [[allotopic expression]]—moving the [[DNA]] for mitochondria completely within the cellular [[Cell nucleus|nucleus]], where it is better protected. In humans, all but 13 proteins are already protected in this way. De Grey argues that experimental evidence demonstrates that the operation is feasible.
===Intracellular junk—LysoSENS===
Our cells are constantly breaking down [[protein]]s and other molecules that are no longer useful or which can be harmful. Those molecules which can’t be digested simply accumulate as junk inside our cells, which is readily detected in the form of [[lipofuscin]] granules. [[Atherosclerosis]], [[macular degeneration]], [[liver spot]]s on the skin and all kinds of [[neurodegenerative disease]]s (such as Alzheimer's disease) are associated with this problem. Junk inside cells might be removed by adding new enzymes to the cell's natural [[digestion]] organ, the [[lysosome]]. These enzymes would be taken from [[bacteria]], [[mold]]s and other organisms that are known to completely digest animal bodies.
===Extracellular junk—AmyloSENS===
Harmful junk protein can also accumulate outside of our cells. Junk outside cells might be removed by enhanced [[phagocytosis]] (the normal process used by the immune system), and small drugs able to break chemical beta-bonds. The large junk in this class can be removed surgically. Junk here means useless things accumulated by a body, but which cannot be digested or removed by its processes, such as the amyloid plaques characteristic of [[Alzheimer's disease]] and other [[amyloidosis|amyloidoses]]. The oft-mentioned "toxins" that are identified as causes of many diseases most likely fit under this class.
===Cell loss and atrophy—RepleniSENS===
Some of the cells in our bodies cannot be replaced, or can only be replaced very slowly—more slowly than they die. This decrease in cell number affects some of the most important tissues of the body. Muscle cells are lost in [[skeletal muscle]]s and the heart, causing them to become frailer with age. Loss of neurons in the [[substantia nigra]] causes [[Parkinson's disease]], while loss of immune cells impairs the [[immune system]]. Cell depletion can be partly corrected by therapies involving [[exercise]] and [[growth factor]]s. But [[stem cell therapy]], [[regenerative medicine]] and [[tissue engineering]] are almost certainly required for any more than just partial replacement of lost cells. De Grey points out that this research is playing an increasingly important role in the international scientific community and [[Stem cell treatments|progress is already occurring on many fronts]], though a large number of details are involved, and most such treatments are still experimental.
===Cell senescence—ApoptoSENS===
This is a phenomenon where the cells are no longer able to divide, but also do not die and let others divide. They may also do other things that they are not supposed to do, like secreting proteins that could be harmful. Degeneration of [[joint]]s, immune senescence, accumulation of [[visceral fat]] and [[diabetes mellitus type 2|type 2 diabetes]] are caused by this. Cells sometimes enter a state of resistance to signals that should cause them to destroy themselves, a process called [[apoptosis]]; an example is the state known as cellular senescence. These cells could be eliminated might be corrected by forcing such cells to apoptose. Cell killing with suicide genes or vaccines is suggested for making the cells undertake apoptosis. Healthy cells would multiply to replace them.
===Extracellular crosslinks—GlycoSENS===
Cells are held together by special linking proteins. When too many cross-links form between cells in a [[Biological tissue|tissue]], the tissue can lose its elasticity and cause problems including arteriosclerosis, presbyopia and weakened skin texture.<ref name=ThanLivescience2005/> These are chemical bonds between structures that are part of the body, but not within a [[Cell (biology)|cell]]. In senescent people many of these become brittle and weak. De Grey proposes to further develop small-molecular drugs and [[enzyme]]s to break links caused by sugar-bonding, known as [[advanced glycation endproduct]]s, and other common forms of chemical linking.
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==Scientific controversy==
While some branches of SENS are broadly supported by the medical research community, i.e. RepleniSENS ([[stem cell research]]), AmyloSENS (currently being explored as part of [[Alzheimer's disease clinical research]]) and OncoSENS ([[oncogenomics]]), the SENS programme as a whole has been a highly controversial proposal, with many critics arguing that the SENS agenda is fanciful and the highly complicated biomedical phenomena involved in the aging process contain too many unknowns for SENS to be scientific or implementable in the foreseeable future.
In November 2005, 28 biogerontologists published a statement of criticism in ''[[EMBO Journal|EMBO reports]]'', "Science fact and the SENS agenda: what can we reasonably expect from ageing research?,"<ref name="pmid16264422">Warner H ''et al.'' (November 2005). "Science fact and the SENS agenda. What can we reasonably expect from ageing research?". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (11): 1006–1008. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400555]]. PMID 16264422.</ref> arguing "each one of the specific proposals that comprise the SENS agenda is, at our present stage of ignorance, exceptionally optimistic,"<ref name="pmid16264422"/> and that some of the specific proposals "will take decades of hard work [to be medically integrated], if [they] ever prove to be useful."<ref name="pmid16264422"/> The researchers argue that while there is "a rationale for thinking that we might eventually learn how to postpone human illnesses to an important degree,"<ref name="pmid16264422"/> increased basic research, rather than the goal-directed approach of SENS, is presently the scientifically appropriate goal. This article was written in response to a July 2005 ''EMBO reports'' article previously published by de Grey<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (July 2005). "Resistance to debate on how to postpone ageing is delaying progress and costing lives". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (S1): S49–S53. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400399]]. PMID 15995663.</ref> and a response from de Grey was published in the same November issue.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (November 2005). "Like it or not, life-extension research extends beyond biogerontology". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (11): 1000. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400565]]. PMID 16264420.</ref> De Grey summarizes these events in "The biogerontology research community's evolving view of SENS," published on the [[Methuselah Foundation]] website.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey. "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/Gandhi3.htm The biogerontology research community's evolving view of SENS]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
===De Grey Technology Review controversy===
{{main|De Grey Technology Review controversy}}
In February 2005, ''[[Technology Review]]'', which is owned by the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], published an article by [[Sherwin Nuland]], a Clinical Professor of Surgery at [[Yale University]] and the author of "How We Die",<ref>Nuland, Sherwin (1994). ''How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter''. New York: Knopf Random House. ISBN 0679414614.</ref> that drew a skeptical portrait of Aubrey de Grey, at the time a computer associate in the [http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/Research/flybase.htm Flybase Facility] of the [http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/ Department of Genetics] at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name=NulandFebr2005>Nuland, Sherwin (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/14147/ Do You Want to Live Forever?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> While admiring de Grey's intelligence, Nuland concluded that he "would surely destroy us in attempting to preserve us"<ref name=NulandFebr2005p7>Nuland, Sherwin (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/14147/page7/ Do You Want to Live Forever?]". ''Technology Review''. Page 7.</ref> because living for such long periods would undermine what it means to be human.<ref name=NulandFebr2005p7/> In the same issue of the magazine, [[Jason Pontin]], the editor in chief and publisher of ''Technology Review'', criticised de Grey. Writing an editor's letter, titled ''Against Transcendence'', he questioned the usefulness and appropriateness of introducing transcendentalism, or transhumanism, into science.<ref>Pontin, Jason (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/02/issue/editor.asp Against Transcendence]", ''Technology Review''.</ref> The April 2005 issue of ''Technology Review'' contained a reply by Aubrey de Grey<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (April 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14097&ch=infotech Aubrey de Grey Responds]", ''Technology Review''.</ref> and numerous comments from readers.<ref>TR Readers (April 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14310&ch=infotechReaders LETTERS: Our February cover story on Aubrey de Grey and antiaging science lives on]". ''Technology Review''.</ref>
In July 2005, Pontin announced a $20,000 prize open to any molecular biologist, with a record of publication in biogerontology, who could prove that SENS was "so wrong that it is unworthy of learned debate."<ref>Pontin, Jason (July 28, 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/pontin/14968/ The SENS Challenge]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> ''Technology Review'' received five submissions to its Challenge. In March, of 2006, ''Technology Review'' announced that it had chosen a panel of judges for the Challenge.<ref>Pontin, Jason (March 14, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/16593/ We've picked the judges for our biogerontology prize]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> Three met the terms of the prize competition. They were published by ''Technology Review'' on June 9, 2006. Accompanying the three submissions were rebuttals by de Grey, and counter-responses to de Grey's rebuttals. On July 11, 2006, ''Technology Review'' published the results of the SENS Challenge.<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref><ref>"[http://www.mprize.com/index.php?pagename=newsdetaildisplay&ID=0104 SENS Withstands Three Challenges : $20,000 Remains Unclaimed]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
In the end, no one won the $20,000 prize. The judges felt that no submission met the criterion of the challenge and disproved SENS, although they unanimously agreed that one submission, by [[Preston Estep]] and his colleagues, was the most eloquent. Craig Venter succinctly expressed the prevailing opinion: "Estep et al. ... have not demonstrated that SENS is unworthy of discussion, but the proponents of SENS have not made a compelling case for it."<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> Summarizing the judges' deliberations, Pontin wrote, "SENS is highly speculative. Many of its proposals have not been reproduced, nor could they be reproduced with today's scientific knowledge and technology. Echoing Myhrvold, we might charitably say that de Grey's proposals exist in a kind of antechamber of science, where they wait (possibly in vain) for independent verification. SENS does not compel the assent of many knowledgeable scientists; but neither is it demonstrably wrong."<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref><ref>Garreau, Joel
(October 31, 2007). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002222.html?hpid=features1&hpv=nationalThe Invincible Man]". ''Washington Post''.</ref> In a letter of dissent dated July 11, 2006 in Technology Review, Estep et al. criticized the ruling of the judges.
==Social and economic implications==
According to de Grey, of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds — 100,000 per day — die of age-related causes.<ref name="doi10.2202/1941-6008.1011">{{cite journal | last = Aubrey D.N.J | first = de Grey | authorlink = Aubrey de Grey | title = Life Span Extension Research and Public Debate: Societal Considerations | journal = Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology | volume = 1 | issue = 1, Article 5 | date = 2007 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/ENHANCE-PP.pdf | format = PDF | doi = 10.2202/1941-6008.1011 | accessdate = March 20, 2009}}</ref> In industrialized nations, the proportion is much higher, reaching 90%.<ref name="doi10.2202/1941-6008.1011"/>
De Grey and other scientists in the general field have argued that the costs of a rapidly growing aging population will increase to the degree that the costs of an accelerated pace of aging research are easy to justify in terms of future costs avoided. Olshansky ''et al.'' 2006 argue, for example, that the total economic cost of [[Alzheimer's disease]] in the US alone will increase from $80–100 billion today to more than $1 trillion in 2050.<ref name=TheLongevityDividend>Olshansky, S. Jay; Perry, Daniel; Miller, Richard A.; Butler, Robert N. (March 2006). "[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/files/eas/Longevity_Dividend.pdf In Pursuit of the Longevity Dividend: What Should We Be Doing To Prepare for the Unprecedented Aging of Humanity?]". ''The Scientist''. 20 (3): 28–36.</ref> "Consider what is likely to happen if we don't [invest further in aging research]. Take, for instance, the impact of just one age-related disorder, Alzheimer disease (AD). For no other reason than the inevitable shifting demographics, the number of Americans stricken with AD will rise from 4 million today to as many as 16 million by midcentury. This means that more people in the United States will have AD by 2050 than the entire current population of the Netherlands. Globally, AD prevalence is expected to rise to 45 million by 2050, with three of every four patients with AD living in a developing nation. The US economic toll is currently $80–$100 billion, but by 2050 more than $1 trillion will be spent annually on AD and related dementias. The impact of this single disease will be catastrophic, and this is just one example."<ref name=TheLongevityDividend/>
==SENS meetings==
There have been four SENS [[Round table|roundtables]] and three SENS [[Academic conference|conferences]] held.<ref>"[http://www.mprize.com/index.php?pagename=meetings Conferences]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 17, 2008.</ref> The first SENS roundtable was held in [[Oakland, California]] on October, 2000,<ref>"[http://methuselahfoundation.org/files/sens/SENS1.htm SENS roundtable 1: Biotechnological foreseeability of ENS (October 1, 2000)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> and the last SENS roundtable was held in [[Bethesda, Maryland]] on July, 2004.<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/meetings/roundtable4 SENS roundtable 4: Enhancing lysosomal catabolic function using microbial enzymes (July 26, 2004)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
On March 30–31, 2007 a North American SENS symposium was held in [[Edmonton, Alberta]], [[Canada]] as the ''Edmonton Aging Symposium''.<ref>"[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/index.php?pagename=eas_program Program]". Edmonton Aging Symposium. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref><ref>"[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/index.php?pagename=eas_archive Presentation Archive]". Edmonton Aging Symposium. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>. Another SENS-related conference ("Understanding Aging") was held at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] on June 27-29, 2008<ref>{{cite web | title = Understanding Aging | publisher = Methuselah Foundation | date = 2008 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/UABBA/ | format = [[HTML]] | accessdate = 2009-03-02 }}</ref>
The three SENS Conferences were each held at [[Queens' College]] of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[England]]. All the conferences were organized by de Grey and all featured world-class researchers in the field of [[Gerontology#Biogerontology|biogerontology]]. The first SENS conference was held in September 2003 as the ''10th Congress of the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology''<ref>"[http://www.methuselahfoundation.org/files/iabg10/ The International Association of Biomedical Gerontology 10th Congress (September 19–23, 2003)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> with the proceedings published in the ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences''.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey, Ed. (June 2004). "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence: Why Genuine Control of Aging May Be Foreseeable". ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences''. 1019: xv–xvi; 1–592. PMID 15320311.</ref> The second SENS conference was held in September 2005 and was simply called ''Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Second Conference''<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens2/ Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Second Conference (September 7–11, 2005)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> with the proceedings published in ''[[Rejuvenation Research]]''. The third SENS conference was held in September, 2007.<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens3/ Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Third Conference (September 6–10, 2007)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
A fourth SENS conference is to be held September 3-7, 2009 and, like the first three, it will be at [[Queens' College]] of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[England]] and organized by de Grey<ref>{{cite web | title = Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Fourth Conference| work = SENS4 — Cambridge | publisher = Methuselah Foundation | date = 2008 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/sens4 | format = [[HTML]] | accessdate = 2009-03-02 }}</ref>
== SENS Foundation ==
{{main|SENS Foundation}}
The SENS Foundation is a [[non-profit organization]] co-founded by Michael Kope, [[Aubrey de Grey]], Jeff Hall, Sarah Marr and Kevin Perrott, which is based in [[California]], [[United States]]. Its activities include [[SENS]]-based research programs and [[public relations]] work for the acceptance of and interest in scientific [[anti-aging]] research.
Before March 2009, the SENS research programme was mainly pursued by the [[Methuselah Foundation]], co-founded by Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel. The [[Methuselah Foundation]] is most notable for establishing the [[Methuselah Mouse Prize]], a monetary prize awarded to researchers who extend the lifespan of mice to unprecedented lengths.<ref name=MFMission>
"[http://www.mprize.org/index.php?pagename=mission What is the Methuselah Foundation?]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 5, 2008.</ref>
==See also==
* [[Actuarial escape velocity]]
* [[Aging-associated diseases]]
* [[Outline of life extension]]
* [[Pro-aging trance]]
* [[Rejuvenation Research]]
==References==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}
__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__
[[Category:Research]]
"Engineered negligible senescence" refers to an [[engineering|engineered]] scenario in which age-related tissue damage can be repaired faster than it accumulates. The expression was coined by British [[biogerontology|biogerontologist]] [[Aubrey de Grey]] and first appeared in print in his 1999 book ''The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging''.<ref name="isbn1587061554">de Grey, Aubrey (November 2003). ''The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging.'' Austin, Texas: Landes Bioscience. ISBN 1587061554.</ref> It was later prefaced with the term "strategies" in the article ''Time to Talk SENS: Critiquing the Immutability of Human Aging''<ref name="pmid11976218">de Grey AD, Ames BN, Andersen JK, Bartke A, Campisi J, Heward CB, McCarter RJ, Stock G (April 2002). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/manu12.pdf Time to Talk SENS: Critiquing the Immutability of Human Aging]". ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences'' 959: 452–62. PMID 11976218.</ref> and is used in the context of de Grey's [[life extension]] medical proposal, "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)". De Grey argues for a "goal-directed rather than curiosity-driven"<ref>Bulkes, Nyssa (March 6, 2006). "[http://www.northernstar.info/article.php?id=20553&old=1 Anti-aging research breakthroughs may add up to 25 years to life]". ''The Northern Star''. Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, USA).</ref> approach to the science of aging, and to this purpose he identifies what he believes are the seven damages of aging and their potential methods of treatments. De Grey in this sense views medicine as a branch of engineering. He believes the next great social debate will occur when aging research progresses to the point that public funds could be used to accelerate the arrival of effective treatment for aging.
The proposal has received widespread media attention, including from the [[BBC]],<ref name="BBCNews-Dec2004">de Grey, Aubrey (December 3, 2004). "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4003063.stm We will be able to live to 1,000]". BBC News.</ref> the ''[[New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT-November2003">Gorman, James (November 1, 2003). "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E2DB1230F932A35752C1A9659C8B63&scp=2&sq=%22negligible%20senescence%22%20&st=cse High-Tech Daydreamers Investing In Immortality]". ''The New York Times''.</ref> and ''[[60 Minutes]]'',<ref name="60Minutes-January2006">Ferguson, Bruce (January 1, 2006). "[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/28/60minutes/main1168852.shtml The Quest for Immortality]". ''60 Minutes''. CBS News.</ref> though it has been questioned by mainstream biologists.<ref name="60Minutes-January2006"/> De Grey has summarized the entire SENS program in his 2007 book ''[[Ending Aging|Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs that Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime]]''.<ref name=EndingAging/> Although media sources have occasionally described SENS as "Cambridge-based",<ref name="BBCNews-Dec2004"/> the SENS project is free-standing with no exclusive university affiliation.<ref name=SENSPlatform/>
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==Framework==
The goal of the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) is the complete reversal of all age-related illnesses and indefinite extension of the healthy human lifespan.<ref name=SENSPlatform>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/sens The SENS Platform: An Engineering Approach to Curing Aging]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.</ref> The SENS project consists in implementing a series of periodic medical interventions designed to repair, prevent or render irrelevant all the types of molecular and cellular damage that cause age-related pathology and degeneration, in order to avoid debilitation and death from age-related causes.<ref name=EndingAging/>
De Grey defines aging as "the set of accumulated side effects from metabolism that eventually kills us",<ref name=ThanLivescience2005>Than, Ker (April 11, 2005). "[http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050411_aubrey_interview.html Hang in There: The 25–Year Wait for Immortality]". ''LiveScience''. Imaginova.</ref> and, more specifically, as follows: "a collection of cumulative changes to the [[molecule|molecular]] and [[cell (biology)|cellular]] structure of an [[adult]] [[organism]], which result in essential [[metabolism|metabolic]] processes, but which also, once they progress far enough, increasingly disrupt metabolism, resulting in [[pathology]] and death."<ref name="pmid12844502">de Grey, Aubrey (January 8, 2003). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/manu16.pdf An engineer's approach to the development of real anti-aging medicine]". ''Sci Aging Knowledge Environ''. 2003 (1): VP1. [[doi:10.1126/sageke.2003.1.vp1]]. PMID 12844502.</ref>
As de Grey states, "[[geriatrics]] is the attempt to stop damage from causing pathology; traditional [[gerontology]] is the attempt to stop [[metabolism]] from causing damage; and the SENS (engineering) approach is to eliminate the damage periodically, so keeping its abundance below the level that causes any pathology."<ref name=SENSPlatform/> His approach to biomedical [[gerontology]] ("[[anti-aging]] [[medicine]]") is thus distinctive because of its emphasis on [[rejuvenation]] rather than attempting to slow the aging process.
He identifies what he believes to be the seven biological causes of senescence.<ref name=EndingAging/><ref>Hooper, Joseph (January 1, 2005). "[http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-01/prophet-immortality The Prophet of Immortality]". ''POPSCI.COM''.</ref> According to de Grey, the causes of aging in humans are cell loss or atrophy (without replacement),<ref name="pmid11976218"/><ref name="pmid12844502"/><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (2005). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/FHT-PP.pdf A strategy for postponing aging indefinitely]". ''Stud Health Technol Inform.'' 118: 209–19. PMID 16301780.</ref> [[oncology|oncogenic]] [[cell nucleus|nuclear]] [[mutation]]s and [[epimutation]]s,<ref>de Grey AD, Campbell FC, Dokal I, Fairbairn LJ, Graham GJ, Jahoda CA, Porterg AC (June 2004). [http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/WILT.pdf Total deletion of ''in vivo'' telomere elongation capacity: an ambitious but possibly ultimate cure for all age-related human cancers]. ''Ann N Y Acad Sci''. 1019: 147–70. [[doi:10.1196/annals.1297.026]]. PMID 15247008.</ref><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (September 1, 2005). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/WILT-FBS.pdf Whole-body interdiction of lengthening of telomeres: a proposal for cancer prevention]". ''Frontiers in Bioscience''. 10: 2420–29. PMID 15970505.</ref><ref name="pmid17588643">de Grey, Aubrey (July–August 2007). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/nucmutPP.pdf Protagonistic pleiotropy: Why cancer may be the only pathogenic effect of accumulating nuclear mutations and epimutations in aging]". ''Mech Ageing Dev''. 128 (7–8): 456–59. [[doi:10.1016/j.mad.2007.05.005]]. PMID 17588643.</ref> cell [[senescence]] (Death-resistant cells),<ref name="pmid12556198">de Grey, Aubrey (February 2003). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/manu21.pdf Challenging but essential targets for genuine anti-ageing drugs]". ''Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets''. 7 (1): 1–5. [[doi:10.1517/14728222.7.1.1]]. PMID 12556198.</ref><ref name="pmid17100587">de Grey, Aubrey (November 2006). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/excellPP.pdf Foreseeable pharmaceutical repair of age-related extracellular damage]". ''Curr Drug Targets''. 7 (11): 1469–77. ISSN 1389–4501. PMID 17100587.</ref> [[mitochondria]]l mutations,<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (Fall 2004). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/polg-PP.pdf Mitochondrial Mutations in Mammalian Aging: An Over-Hasty About-Turn?]" ''Rejuvenation Res''. 7 (3): 171–4. [[doi:10.1089/rej.2004.7.171]]. PMID 15588517.</ref><ref>de Grey, Aubrey (September 2000). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/allo.pdf Mitochondrial gene therapy: an arena for the biomedical use of inteins]". ''Trends Biotechnol''. 18 (9): 394–99. [[doi:10.1016/S0167-7799(00)01476-1]]". PMID 10942964.</ref> Intracellular junk or junk inside cells ([[lysosome|lysosomal]] aggregates),<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (November 2002). "[http://www.mprize.com/files/sens/manu15.pdf Bioremediation meets biomedicine: therapeutic translation of microbial catabolism to the lysosome]". ''Trends Biotechnol''. 20 (11): 452–5. [[doi:10.1016/S0167-7799(02)02062-0]]. PMID 12413818.</ref><ref>de Grey AD, Alvarez PJJ, Brady RO, Cuervo AM, Jerome WG, McCarty PL, Nixon RA, Rittmann BE, Sparrow JR (August 2005). "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/medbioremPP.pdf Medical bioremediation: prospects for the application of microbial catabolic diversity to aging and several major age-related diseases]". ''Ageing Research Reviews''. 4 (3): 315–38. [[doi:10.1016/j.arr.2005.03.008]]. PMID 16040282.</ref> extracellular junk or junk outside cells (extracellular aggregates),<ref name="pmid12556198"/><ref name="pmid17100587"/> and random extracellular cross-linking.<ref name="pmid12556198"/><ref name="pmid17100587"/>
For each of these problems, de Grey outlines possible solutions, with a research and a clinical component. The clinical component is required because in some of the proposed therapies, feasibility has already been proven, but not completely applied and approved for use by human beings. He believes we will be able to apply these solutions before we completely understand the targeted aging mechanisms, which will take longer.<ref name=ThanLivescience2005>Than, Ker (April 11, 2005). "[http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050411_aubrey_interview.html Hang in There: The 25–Year Wait for Immortality]". ''LiveScience''. Imaginova.</ref> He states that the goals work together to eliminate known causes of human senescence, are concrete, seem achievable, and are considered feasible by experts in the applicable fields. The goals were said to be taken from classical literature describing the biological causes of senescence.
De Grey proposes that engineered negligible senescence therapies could extend the human lifetime by many centuries or millennia, as early therapies give them enough time to seek more effective therapies later on. He describes an [[actuarial escape velocity]] of life extension, when advances in senescence treatment come rapidly enough to save the lives of the oldest beneficiaries of the previous treatments.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (June 15, 2004). "Escape Velocity: Why the Prospect of Extreme Human Life Extension Matters Now". ''PLOS Biology'' 2 (6): 723–26. [[doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020187]].</ref>
==Types of aging damage and treatment schemes==
===Cancer-causing nuclear mutations/epimutations—OncoSENS===
These are changes to the nuclear [[DNA]] (nDNA), the molecule that contains our genetic information, or to proteins which bind to the nDNA. Certain [[mutation]]s can lead to cancer, and, according to de Grey, non-cancerous mutations and [[epimutation]]s do not contribute to aging within a normal lifespan, so cancer is the only endpoint of these types of damage that must be addressed. A mutation in a functional gene of a cell can cause that cell to malfunction or to produce a malfunctioning product, because of the sheer number of cells, de Grey believes that redundancy takes care of this problem, although cells that have mutated to produce toxic products might have to be disabled. In de Grey's opinion, the effect of mutations and epimutations that really matters is [[cancer]], this is because if even one cell turns into a cancer cell it might spread and become deadly. This would need to be corrected by a [[cure for cancer]], if any is ever found. The SENS program focuses on a strategy called "whole-body interdiction of lengthening [[telomeres]]" (WILT), which would be made possible by periodic [[regenerative medicine]] treatments (see below).
===Mitochondrial mutations—MitoSENS===
Mitochondria are components in our [[cell (biology)|cells]] that are important for [[energy]] production. They contain their own genetic material, and mutations to their DNA can affect a cell’s ability to function properly. Indirectly, these mutations may accelerate many aspects of aging. Because of the highly oxidative environment in mitochondria and their lack of the sophisticated repair systems found in cell nucleus, mitochondrial mutations are believed to a be a major cause of progressive cellular degeneration. This would be corrected by [[allotopic expression]]—moving the [[DNA]] for mitochondria completely within the cellular [[Cell nucleus|nucleus]], where it is better protected. In humans, all but 13 proteins are already protected in this way. De Grey argues that experimental evidence demonstrates that the operation is feasible.
===Intracellular junk—LysoSENS===
Our cells are constantly breaking down [[protein]]s and other molecules that are no longer useful or which can be harmful. Those molecules which can’t be digested simply accumulate as junk inside our cells, which is readily detected in the form of [[lipofuscin]] granules. [[Atherosclerosis]], [[macular degeneration]], [[liver spot]]s on the skin and all kinds of [[neurodegenerative disease]]s (such as Alzheimer's disease) are associated with this problem. Junk inside cells might be removed by adding new enzymes to the cell's natural [[digestion]] organ, the [[lysosome]]. These enzymes would be taken from [[bacteria]], [[mold]]s and other organisms that are known to completely digest animal bodies.
===Extracellular junk—AmyloSENS===
Harmful junk protein can also accumulate outside of our cells. Junk outside cells might be removed by enhanced [[phagocytosis]] (the normal process used by the immune system), and small drugs able to break chemical beta-bonds. The large junk in this class can be removed surgically. Junk here means useless things accumulated by a body, but which cannot be digested or removed by its processes, such as the amyloid plaques characteristic of [[Alzheimer's disease]] and other [[amyloidosis|amyloidoses]]. The oft-mentioned "toxins" that are identified as causes of many diseases most likely fit under this class.
===Cell loss and atrophy—RepleniSENS===
Some of the cells in our bodies cannot be replaced, or can only be replaced very slowly—more slowly than they die. This decrease in cell number affects some of the most important tissues of the body. Muscle cells are lost in [[skeletal muscle]]s and the heart, causing them to become frailer with age. Loss of neurons in the [[substantia nigra]] causes [[Parkinson's disease]], while loss of immune cells impairs the [[immune system]]. Cell depletion can be partly corrected by therapies involving [[exercise]] and [[growth factor]]s. But [[stem cell therapy]], [[regenerative medicine]] and [[tissue engineering]] are almost certainly required for any more than just partial replacement of lost cells. De Grey points out that this research is playing an increasingly important role in the international scientific community and [[Stem cell treatments|progress is already occurring on many fronts]], though a large number of details are involved, and most such treatments are still experimental.
===Cell senescence—ApoptoSENS===
This is a phenomenon where the cells are no longer able to divide, but also do not die and let others divide. They may also do other things that they are not supposed to do, like secreting proteins that could be harmful. Degeneration of [[joint]]s, immune senescence, accumulation of [[visceral fat]] and [[diabetes mellitus type 2|type 2 diabetes]] are caused by this. Cells sometimes enter a state of resistance to signals that should cause them to destroy themselves, a process called [[apoptosis]]; an example is the state known as cellular senescence. These cells could be eliminated might be corrected by forcing such cells to apoptose. Cell killing with suicide genes or vaccines is suggested for making the cells undertake apoptosis. Healthy cells would multiply to replace them.
===Extracellular crosslinks—GlycoSENS===
Cells are held together by special linking proteins. When too many cross-links form between cells in a [[Biological tissue|tissue]], the tissue can lose its elasticity and cause problems including arteriosclerosis, presbyopia and weakened skin texture.<ref name=ThanLivescience2005/> These are chemical bonds between structures that are part of the body, but not within a [[Cell (biology)|cell]]. In senescent people many of these become brittle and weak. De Grey proposes to further develop small-molecular drugs and [[enzyme]]s to break links caused by sugar-bonding, known as [[advanced glycation endproduct]]s, and other common forms of chemical linking.
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==Scientific controversy==
While some branches of SENS are broadly supported by the medical research community, i.e. RepleniSENS ([[stem cell research]]), AmyloSENS (currently being explored as part of [[Alzheimer's disease clinical research]]) and OncoSENS ([[oncogenomics]]), the SENS programme as a whole has been a highly controversial proposal, with many critics arguing that the SENS agenda is fanciful and the highly complicated biomedical phenomena involved in the aging process contain too many unknowns for SENS to be scientific or implementable in the foreseeable future.
In November 2005, 28 biogerontologists published a statement of criticism in ''[[EMBO Journal|EMBO reports]]'', "Science fact and the SENS agenda: what can we reasonably expect from ageing research?,"<ref name="pmid16264422">Warner H ''et al.'' (November 2005). "Science fact and the SENS agenda. What can we reasonably expect from ageing research?". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (11): 1006–1008. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400555]]. PMID 16264422.</ref> arguing "each one of the specific proposals that comprise the SENS agenda is, at our present stage of ignorance, exceptionally optimistic,"<ref name="pmid16264422"/> and that some of the specific proposals "will take decades of hard work [to be medically integrated], if [they] ever prove to be useful."<ref name="pmid16264422"/> The researchers argue that while there is "a rationale for thinking that we might eventually learn how to postpone human illnesses to an important degree,"<ref name="pmid16264422"/> increased basic research, rather than the goal-directed approach of SENS, is presently the scientifically appropriate goal. This article was written in response to a July 2005 ''EMBO reports'' article previously published by de Grey<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (July 2005). "Resistance to debate on how to postpone ageing is delaying progress and costing lives". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (S1): S49–S53. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400399]]. PMID 15995663.</ref> and a response from de Grey was published in the same November issue.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (November 2005). "Like it or not, life-extension research extends beyond biogerontology". ''EMBO reports''. 6 (11): 1000. [[doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400565]]. PMID 16264420.</ref> De Grey summarizes these events in "The biogerontology research community's evolving view of SENS," published on the [[Methuselah Foundation]] website.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey. "[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/Gandhi3.htm The biogerontology research community's evolving view of SENS]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
===De Grey Technology Review controversy===
{{main|De Grey Technology Review controversy}}
In February 2005, ''[[Technology Review]]'', which is owned by the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], published an article by [[Sherwin Nuland]], a Clinical Professor of Surgery at [[Yale University]] and the author of "How We Die",<ref>Nuland, Sherwin (1994). ''How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter''. New York: Knopf Random House. ISBN 0679414614.</ref> that drew a skeptical portrait of Aubrey de Grey, at the time a computer associate in the [http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/Research/flybase.htm Flybase Facility] of the [http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/ Department of Genetics] at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name=NulandFebr2005>Nuland, Sherwin (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/14147/ Do You Want to Live Forever?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> While admiring de Grey's intelligence, Nuland concluded that he "would surely destroy us in attempting to preserve us"<ref name=NulandFebr2005p7>Nuland, Sherwin (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/14147/page7/ Do You Want to Live Forever?]". ''Technology Review''. Page 7.</ref> because living for such long periods would undermine what it means to be human.<ref name=NulandFebr2005p7/> In the same issue of the magazine, [[Jason Pontin]], the editor in chief and publisher of ''Technology Review'', criticised de Grey. Writing an editor's letter, titled ''Against Transcendence'', he questioned the usefulness and appropriateness of introducing transcendentalism, or transhumanism, into science.<ref>Pontin, Jason (February 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/02/issue/editor.asp Against Transcendence]", ''Technology Review''.</ref> The April 2005 issue of ''Technology Review'' contained a reply by Aubrey de Grey<ref>de Grey, Aubrey (April 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14097&ch=infotech Aubrey de Grey Responds]", ''Technology Review''.</ref> and numerous comments from readers.<ref>TR Readers (April 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14310&ch=infotechReaders LETTERS: Our February cover story on Aubrey de Grey and antiaging science lives on]". ''Technology Review''.</ref>
In July 2005, Pontin announced a $20,000 prize open to any molecular biologist, with a record of publication in biogerontology, who could prove that SENS was "so wrong that it is unworthy of learned debate."<ref>Pontin, Jason (July 28, 2005). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/pontin/14968/ The SENS Challenge]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> ''Technology Review'' received five submissions to its Challenge. In March, of 2006, ''Technology Review'' announced that it had chosen a panel of judges for the Challenge.<ref>Pontin, Jason (March 14, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/16593/ We've picked the judges for our biogerontology prize]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> Three met the terms of the prize competition. They were published by ''Technology Review'' on June 9, 2006. Accompanying the three submissions were rebuttals by de Grey, and counter-responses to de Grey's rebuttals. On July 11, 2006, ''Technology Review'' published the results of the SENS Challenge.<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref><ref>"[http://www.mprize.com/index.php?pagename=newsdetaildisplay&ID=0104 SENS Withstands Three Challenges : $20,000 Remains Unclaimed]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
In the end, no one won the $20,000 prize. The judges felt that no submission met the criterion of the challenge and disproved SENS, although they unanimously agreed that one submission, by [[Preston Estep]] and his colleagues, was the most eloquent. Craig Venter succinctly expressed the prevailing opinion: "Estep et al. ... have not demonstrated that SENS is unworthy of discussion, but the proponents of SENS have not made a compelling case for it."<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref> Summarizing the judges' deliberations, Pontin wrote, "SENS is highly speculative. Many of its proposals have not been reproduced, nor could they be reproduced with today's scientific knowledge and technology. Echoing Myhrvold, we might charitably say that de Grey's proposals exist in a kind of antechamber of science, where they wait (possibly in vain) for independent verification. SENS does not compel the assent of many knowledgeable scientists; but neither is it demonstrably wrong."<ref name=PontinJuly112006>Pontin, Jason (July 11, 2006). "[http://www.technologyreview.com/sens/ Is Defeating Aging Only A Dream?]". ''Technology Review''.</ref><ref>Garreau, Joel
(October 31, 2007). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002222.html?hpid=features1&hpv=nationalThe Invincible Man]". ''Washington Post''.</ref> In a letter of dissent dated July 11, 2006 in Technology Review, Estep et al. criticized the ruling of the judges.
==Social and economic implications==
According to de Grey, of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds — 100,000 per day — die of age-related causes.<ref name="doi10.2202/1941-6008.1011">{{cite journal | last = Aubrey D.N.J | first = de Grey | authorlink = Aubrey de Grey | title = Life Span Extension Research and Public Debate: Societal Considerations | journal = Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology | volume = 1 | issue = 1, Article 5 | date = 2007 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens/ENHANCE-PP.pdf | format = PDF | doi = 10.2202/1941-6008.1011 | accessdate = March 20, 2009}}</ref> In industrialized nations, the proportion is much higher, reaching 90%.<ref name="doi10.2202/1941-6008.1011"/>
De Grey and other scientists in the general field have argued that the costs of a rapidly growing aging population will increase to the degree that the costs of an accelerated pace of aging research are easy to justify in terms of future costs avoided. Olshansky ''et al.'' 2006 argue, for example, that the total economic cost of [[Alzheimer's disease]] in the US alone will increase from $80–100 billion today to more than $1 trillion in 2050.<ref name=TheLongevityDividend>Olshansky, S. Jay; Perry, Daniel; Miller, Richard A.; Butler, Robert N. (March 2006). "[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/files/eas/Longevity_Dividend.pdf In Pursuit of the Longevity Dividend: What Should We Be Doing To Prepare for the Unprecedented Aging of Humanity?]". ''The Scientist''. 20 (3): 28–36.</ref> "Consider what is likely to happen if we don't [invest further in aging research]. Take, for instance, the impact of just one age-related disorder, Alzheimer disease (AD). For no other reason than the inevitable shifting demographics, the number of Americans stricken with AD will rise from 4 million today to as many as 16 million by midcentury. This means that more people in the United States will have AD by 2050 than the entire current population of the Netherlands. Globally, AD prevalence is expected to rise to 45 million by 2050, with three of every four patients with AD living in a developing nation. The US economic toll is currently $80–$100 billion, but by 2050 more than $1 trillion will be spent annually on AD and related dementias. The impact of this single disease will be catastrophic, and this is just one example."<ref name=TheLongevityDividend/>
==SENS meetings==
There have been four SENS [[Round table|roundtables]] and three SENS [[Academic conference|conferences]] held.<ref>"[http://www.mprize.com/index.php?pagename=meetings Conferences]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 17, 2008.</ref> The first SENS roundtable was held in [[Oakland, California]] on October, 2000,<ref>"[http://methuselahfoundation.org/files/sens/SENS1.htm SENS roundtable 1: Biotechnological foreseeability of ENS (October 1, 2000)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> and the last SENS roundtable was held in [[Bethesda, Maryland]] on July, 2004.<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/meetings/roundtable4 SENS roundtable 4: Enhancing lysosomal catabolic function using microbial enzymes (July 26, 2004)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
On March 30–31, 2007 a North American SENS symposium was held in [[Edmonton, Alberta]], [[Canada]] as the ''Edmonton Aging Symposium''.<ref>"[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/index.php?pagename=eas_program Program]". Edmonton Aging Symposium. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref><ref>"[http://www.edmontonagingsymposium.com/index.php?pagename=eas_archive Presentation Archive]". Edmonton Aging Symposium. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>. Another SENS-related conference ("Understanding Aging") was held at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] on June 27-29, 2008<ref>{{cite web | title = Understanding Aging | publisher = Methuselah Foundation | date = 2008 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/UABBA/ | format = [[HTML]] | accessdate = 2009-03-02 }}</ref>
The three SENS Conferences were each held at [[Queens' College]] of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[England]]. All the conferences were organized by de Grey and all featured world-class researchers in the field of [[Gerontology#Biogerontology|biogerontology]]. The first SENS conference was held in September 2003 as the ''10th Congress of the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology''<ref>"[http://www.methuselahfoundation.org/files/iabg10/ The International Association of Biomedical Gerontology 10th Congress (September 19–23, 2003)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> with the proceedings published in the ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences''.<ref>de Grey, Aubrey, Ed. (June 2004). "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence: Why Genuine Control of Aging May Be Foreseeable". ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences''. 1019: xv–xvi; 1–592. PMID 15320311.</ref> The second SENS conference was held in September 2005 and was simply called ''Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Second Conference''<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens2/ Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Second Conference (September 7–11, 2005)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref> with the proceedings published in ''[[Rejuvenation Research]]''. The third SENS conference was held in September, 2007.<ref>"[http://www.mfoundation.org/files/sens3/ Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Third Conference (September 6–10, 2007)]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.</ref>
A fourth SENS conference is to be held September 3-7, 2009 and, like the first three, it will be at [[Queens' College]] of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[England]] and organized by de Grey<ref>{{cite web | title = Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), Fourth Conference| work = SENS4 — Cambridge | publisher = Methuselah Foundation | date = 2008 | url = http://www.mfoundation.org/sens4 | format = [[HTML]] | accessdate = 2009-03-02 }}</ref>
== SENS Foundation ==
{{main|SENS Foundation}}
The SENS Foundation is a [[non-profit organization]] co-founded by Michael Kope, [[Aubrey de Grey]], Jeff Hall, Sarah Marr and Kevin Perrott, which is based in [[California]], [[United States]]. Its activities include [[SENS]]-based research programs and [[public relations]] work for the acceptance of and interest in scientific [[anti-aging]] research.
Before March 2009, the SENS research programme was mainly pursued by the [[Methuselah Foundation]], co-founded by Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel. The [[Methuselah Foundation]] is most notable for establishing the [[Methuselah Mouse Prize]], a monetary prize awarded to researchers who extend the lifespan of mice to unprecedented lengths.<ref name=MFMission>
"[http://www.mprize.org/index.php?pagename=mission What is the Methuselah Foundation?]". Methuselah Foundation. Retrieved on July 5, 2008.</ref>
==See also==
* [[Actuarial escape velocity]]
* [[Aging-associated diseases]]
* [[Outline of life extension]]
* [[Pro-aging trance]]
* [[Rejuvenation Research]]
==References==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}
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[[Category:Research]]
